TREI PĂZEŞTE DIN BÎRCA Romanian
PRONUNCIATION: treh puh-ZESH-teh deen BEUR-kah TRANSLATION: Three times beware! from Bîrca SOURCE: Dick Oakes learned this dance from Sunni Bloland who learned it during her 1967-68 research trip to Romania from Anca Guirchescu, dance ethnographer at the Institute of Ethnography and Folklore in Bucareşti (Bucharest). Ms. Bloland taught the dance at the 1969 Balkan/Near-East Festival in Portland, Oregon. BACKGROUND: There are many dances from the southern part of Romania called Trei Păzeşte, meaning "three-times beware!" or "three-times look out!" This one is from the town of Bîrca in the Romanian ethnographic region of Oltenia. Most of the dances bearing this title utilize variations on a cross-step, often with a leg-thrust at the end of the motif to change direction. The dance may be done on any occasion. Bîrca is a quaint village along one of the roads between Craiova and the Danube river. Bîrca is also the birthplace of Adrian Paunescu, a well known Romanian poet who is renowned for putting together "Cenaclul Flacara" that served as an outlet for young aspiring artists. MUSIC: Naroc Records (7" EP) NA 1054-EP, Side A, Band 2. FORMATION: Short lines of mixed M and W, hands joined with the second neighbor on each side in a "back-basket" hold ("B" pos). METER/RHYTHM: 2/4 STEPS/STYLE: The steps are light with the wt usually taken on the ball of the ft. All stamps are without wt.
MEAS MOVEMENT DESCRIPTION
INTRODUCTION 1-4 No action. I. THREE TIMES BEWARE! 1 Step R fwd (ct 1); kick L fwd gently (ct 2); 2 Step L bwd (ct 1); touch R about even with L toe (ct 2). 3-4 Repeat action of meas 1-2. II. SINGLE CROSS 1 Facing diag R, lunge R without wt (ct 1); draw R sharply back to L (ct 2); 2 Lunge R without wt (ct 1); draw R sharply back to L (ct 2); 3 Lunge R without wt (ct 1); draw R sharply back to L with a "click," taking wt and displacing L, which causes L to shoot out diag bwd (ct 2); step L diag bwd (ct &); 4 Draw R sharply back to L with a "click," taking wt and displacing L, which causes L to shoot out diag bwd (ct 1); step R diag bwd (ct &); draw R sharply back to L with a "click," taking wt and displacing L, which causes L to shoot out diag bwd (ct 2); step R diag bwd (ct &). III. TRAVELING R AND L 1 Facing fwd, step R diag bwd (ct 1); step L in place (ct &); step R across in front of L (ct 2); step L in place (ct &); 2 Step R diag bwd (ct 1); step L in place (ct &); step R across in front of L, bending R knee and, at the same time, thrusting L strongly diag fwd to L (ct 2); pause (ct &). 3 Facing fwd, step L diag bwd (ct 1); step R in place (ct &); step L across in front of R (ct 2); step R in place (ct &);. 4 Step L diag bwd (ct 1); step R in place (ct &); step L across in front of R, bending L knee and, at the same time, thrusting R strongly diag fwd to R (ct 2); step L swd (ct &). IV. DOUBLE CROSS 1 Facing fwd, step R diag bwd (ct 1); step L across in front of R (ct &); step R in place (ct 2); step L diag bwd (ct &); 2 Step R across in front of L (ct 1); step L in place (ct &); step R diag bwd (ct 2); step L across in front of R (ct &). Repeat entire dance from beg. Copyright © 2012 by Dick Oakes